Japan opens new solar power plant

On March 27, Europe's largest supplier for solar panels, REC, officially opened a new 1.7 MW capacity solar power plant in Yonago, Tottori in Japan.

The plant is made up of 7,056 solar panels which are expected to produce over 1,840 MWh of renewable electricity per year, enough to power approximately 510 households and save 1,200 tonnes of carbon annually.

"We are feeding 100 per cent of the electricity generated into the grid for which we need excellent product quality and performance backed by strong warranties," said Masahide Yamana, president of Advantec, the company which built the plant.

Arne Walther, Norway's ambassador to Japan also attended the event, and made note of the world's important trend towards renewable energy.

"While energy saving and increased imports of fossil fuels, especially liquefied natural gas, has been the immediate response to reduced reliance on nuclear energy, accelerated development of renewables, not least solar, is emerging as a desired longer term priority,"said Mr Walther.

Australia has been increasingly involved in environmental discussions in the Asia-Pacific region, for instance minister for climate change Greg Combet's recent dialogue with Chinese officials over establishing an international Asia-Pacific carbon market.